


Self-Care

by InkDrawnDreamer



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Eddie is a workaholic, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Venom Symbiote (Marvel), M/M, Oneshot, Swearing, figures my first entry into this fandom would be sappy shit, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 12:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17787404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkDrawnDreamer/pseuds/InkDrawnDreamer
Summary: As much of an admittedly lazy bastard as he could be sometimes, once Eddie Brock was focused on doing something, he could easily keep chipping away at it until he was physically incapable of continuing. His determination would be rather admirable if he did not let it get out of control so easily. This time, however, if Venom hadn't been there to get him out of harm's way, Eddie could very easily have been killed. For that reason, his partner was determined to make him healthy again, whether he went by choice or by force.





	Self-Care

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in less than 24 hours and it's just a sappy fluff-piece. I am glad to finally contribute something to this fandom, though. Happy Valentine's Day everybody ❤

It took nearly every ounce of Venom's strength to drag Eddie's body back to the apartment. Even with their psyches so enmeshed, the symbiote was having trouble figuring out if Eddie was still conscious or not. Their most recent attempt at picking off the criminal element of San Francisco had left them both uncharacteristically worse for wear. Even with Venom bubbling up to attack and defend where Eddie couldn't, their host still took quite a beating.  _ It wasn't a huge surprise, _ they pondered as they dragged their cold-cocked partner up the stairs, but Venom couldn't help but feel a little guilty about it. Eddie hadn't been in fighting form for several days, but he swore he could handle their patrol tonight when his other became insistent. He'd been running on short bursts of sleep and high doses of caffeine all week while researching a particularly lucrative story, which got to the point that he could no longer tell how much of his routine was performed on autopilot and how much was simply Venom picking up his slack. 

His reaction time was already slow when they'd gone out and found their mark for the night, but Venom had assumed that they could make up for it. The symbiote had not counted on the effect Eddie's exhaustion could have on the both of them combined. Their relationship was a constant give-and-take―and their shared physical health meant that they each experienced the other's highs and lows to varying degrees. It was after they were finally forced to retreat that Venom began to really worry about how much taking they were doing. Besides his intermittent periods of rest, Eddie also hadn't been eating as much as usual―which was still more than the average person no doubt―but those extra calories were already necessary to satiate an alien symbiote when they couldn't hunt normally. Eddie probably only ate about half as much that day as was usually needed to keep the pair of them going. He’d clearly been in no shape to fend off multiple attackers, even with help. Still though, it wasn't as though Venom hadn't nagged him about it at the time.

**_"Need to keep up your calorie intake, Eddie."_ **

**_"Our body can't function properly on only coffee, Eddie."_ **

**_"Go the fuck to bed before I knock you unconscious and drag us there myself, Eddie."_ **

What Venom had not counted on was just how quickly his human host would let his physical needs fall to the wayside when he was determined to finish a task. As much of an admittedly lazy bastard as he could be sometimes, once Eddie Brock was focused on doing something, he could easily keep chipping away at it until he was physically incapable of continuing. He'd spent much of his adult life seated at his computer, throwing back energy shots in between several hour-long stretches of research and writing. His determination would be rather admirable if he did not let it get out of control so easily. Venom had been a captive audience for milder forms of this habit on a few previous occasions, but this time had been different. This time, if Venom hadn't been there to get him out of harm's way, Eddie could very easily have been killed. For that reason, his partner was determined to make him healthy again, whether he went by choice or by force.

If Eddie wasn't awake for the commute home, then he certainly was now, judging by the low groan that pricked at Venom’s hearing while they fished around in their host’s pockets for his house keys. Getting the lock undone took a little more finesse than expected, but all that mattered now was that they were home safe. The warbled grunts that Eddie made only grew softer as Venom further enveloped his back and hs limbs, fluffing themself as much as possible so as to make transporting their host onto the couch gentler. The viscous substance that made up Venom now had a texture more like wool―coarse and somewhat fibrous, but just soft enough to be comfortable to the touch. Eddie could now feel the thick tendrils that had hoisted him onto the couch slithering out from beneath him and back into his aching body.

**_"How are you feeling?"_ ** Venom kept their internal voice set at a muffled purr.

"Kinda like a hangover," Eddie’s voice slurred. The rumble in his brain was just deep enough to rattle the inside of his skull. "Is anything broken? I  _ think _ something's broken."

**"Only a fractured tibia and a dislocated shoulder. We have fixed most of the other internal injuries already,"** Venom replied out loud this time.

"Thanks pal." Eddie attempted to roll onto his side only to fall onto his back again with a wince. "Agh. Boy we sure got our asses handed to us today, didn't we?"

**"Yes. We were unprepared to hunt in this condition."**

"I think I missed, like, half that battle, to be honest." His eyes remained open and fixed on the back of the couch. “You eat anyone?”

**“Only one. We did not have time for the other while we were retreating.”**

“That’s good.” Eddie’s words were followed by a low moan as he felt Venom slowly sink into his skin and then spread out beneath it. It sounded a lot weirder than it actually felt. The best way he could describe it was like getting a deep tissue massage while on local anesthesia; He could feel things being shifted and sculpted inside, but it was so far away, like there was a barrier between his nerves and his brain where the connection got lost in a fog. Somewhere in that odd fog he could feel a cool sort of pressure that reminded him of a cold, as though his chest had been stuffed full of wet cotton―a sensation he also recognized as distress.

“Something both’rin you, Vee?” Eddie said into the couch cushion.

The long pause that followed had him a bit worried.  **"This,”** the symbiote’s voice thrummed softly in his brain.  **“Is our fault. Shouldn't have made you fight with so little energy. Shouldn't have let you do it."**

"What? No." Eddie shut his eyes to try and halt the spinning feeling in his head. "Come on Vee, I'm the dumbass who decided we could take on two guys at once with three hours of sleep and no dinner."

**"Yes you are, but I shouldn't have let you. You are my responsibility."**

"Hey, come on. I'm not some kid," he grumbled.

**"I know, but we are exhausted. We need to rest, to eat. Need to take better care of us."**

"Yeah, I know I do," Eddie mumbles as he caressed a tendril that slid between his fingers.

**"I meant me."**

"You're not the one pulling three all-nighters in a row, buddy. That's on me."

**"You forget that you and I are one, Eddie. You allow me to reside with you, and in exchange, I keep this body in the best condition possible. I keep us together and I keep us safe."**

"Yeah, you do." Eddie continued to bunch together and smooth out the clump of Venom swirling around in his hand. The texture was like nothing he'd ever felt before they met, like putty, but with the malleability of liquid. “I still gotta do my part too, though. It’s my job to take care of you too."

**“You do.”**

“That being said, I promise I’ll work on keeping us in better shape after this. Okay?”

**"Okay."**

"I'll try to get my sleep schedule back on track."

**"Good."**

"I'll make sure to sit down and eat more than once a day."

**"Should probably triple that number."**

"Eh, let’s start a bit smaller."

**“Pussy.”**

“I should probably start eating more vegetables too, huh?”

**“No, don’t do that.”**

“Uh, why not?”

**“They are disgusting and we do not need them.”**

“Well  _ I _ still need them, even if you don’t, so I guess you’ll just have to suck it up.”

**_“No.”_ **

“Pussy,” Eddie muttered, only to laugh when he was met with the sensation of tendrils frantically combing through his hair. “Relax, I ain’t going grocery shopping until tomorrow at least.”

**“What about now?”**

“That depends. How are we doing wound-wise?” Eddie shifted onto his side with a more noticeable ease than before.

**“The bones are mended and the flesh wounds are healing now.”** The top of a head manifested from the pool of blackness on Eddie’s chest, surfacing just enough of a face for Eddie to catch sight of a row of sharp teeth.  **“Your body needs rest though. You don’t have reserves of energy to draw on right now. The story can wait.”**

“Are those the doctor’s orders then?” Venom’s description seemed to match up with how he felt. He was still pretty sore all over, but the sting of cuts and the ache of blunt trauma had almost entirely dissipated.

**“We have not spoken to Dan recently.”**

“No, it’s an expression Vee.” He could feel Venom’s curiosity, but he didn’t feel like explaining right now. Luckily, Venom seemed to notice. An inky tendril swam toward the remote on the coffee table and the TV set sputtered to life. Eddie laid back against the cushions and felt the fibrous substance form beneath him again, but this time, it wrapped around his body in a thicker, more unified layer, almost like a blanket. It was like an instant sedative that went straight to his brain, making him yawn into Venom’s shadowy form.

**“Do you want the TV off?”** The pearly eyes of the symbiote opened somewhere just below his chest, blinking at him expectantly.

“Nah, I’m good. Watch whatever you want. I don’t think I’ll be awake much longer.” He curled in on himself with a contented murmur. Venom’s form spilled out beneath his head to cradle his cheek.

**“I will still wake you up before 8 o’clock tomorrow.”**

“Copy that,” Eddie sighed. “You’re the best, Vee.”

**“I know.”**

“Course you do.” He felt a narrow claw sift gently through his hair. Venom flowed warm and languid over his flesh, enveloping him like a second, protective skin.

**“Sleep well, Eddie.”**

Eddie smiled. “You too, bud.”


End file.
